Mobile vector soliton in a spin-orbit coupled spin-1 condensate

Abstract

We study the formation of bound states and three-component bright vector solitons in a quasi-one-dimensional spin-orbit-coupled hyperfine spin f = 1 Bose-Einstein condensate using numerical solution and variational approximation of a mean-field model. In the antiferromagnetic domain, the solutions are time-reversal symmetric, and the component densities have multi-peak structure. In the ferromagnetic domain, the solutions violate time-reversal symmetry, and the component densities have single-peak structure. The dynamics of the system are not Galelian invariant. From an analysis of Galelian invariance, we establish that the single-peak ferromagnetic vector solitons are true solitons and can move maintaining constant component densities, whereas the antiferromagnetic solitons cannot move with constant component densities.